Shenandoah Valley KOA and happy girls!

KILL! CONQUER! that vine!

Maybe next time, Miss Loretta Lynn . . .

Day 32

Milton, WV to Staunton, VA
257 mi, 5 1/2 mi

Well, we compromised and did it Jeff's way. Huh? He is on a mission to get to northern Virginia and really, I can't complain (much) because we landed in a beautiful spot on a river with a waterfall. I'll show you that above.

So, we traveled the mountains of West Virginia today. Notable bumperstickder: Hillbillies are People Too! Who knew??

Really beautiful and not without some white knuckles. (In an aside, I must say that when the shouting at the radio by Guess Who coincides with a scary bridge or big truck passing by, I get a little well TERRIFIED.)

We passed into Virginia today and are traveling north - Spring gets earlier by the hour. Here is Harvey in our new campground.

It is beautiful but the people apparently breed rabbits and there are huge fur bundles everywhere eating the new grass. Lucy is pretty much beside herself. Pictures above are of the
river that runs through the campground and the joyous puppies

btw, I love Jeff's little copilot's glance my way...

From Loretta Lynn herself:

Y'all come see me, Jeffy-Joe!

Here in Butcher Hollar

Day 31

Shepherdsville, KY to Milton, WV
233 mi, 5 1/2 hrs

We left Kentucky for West Virginia today and went from rolling green fields and horse farms and past this ginormous factory on the Kentucky/West Virginia line to hollars and ravines and dare I hope? yesssss, hillbillies! Actually, Miss Loretta Lynn grew up right here in this area. Not that she is a hillbilly, or is she? I don't know...

Anyhoo, not much to report as we've been doing a lot of driving, a LOT of driving, yes, a LOT. Are you reading this, Jeff? I love you but I'm tired of driving a LOT. Can't we go visit Miss Loretta Lynn's hillbilly cabin in Butcher Hollar? Her very own brother, Herman, conducts tours. How cool is that?

Kentucky

Kentucky is in early spring and it is beautiful. But, what do we have here? Why, it's a Kentucky Fried Chicken in uh well, Kentucky. It's a Kentucky Kentucky Fried Chicken! (and no, no way did we eat here)

Holy Crumbling Infrastructure Batman!!

Day 30
Paducah, KY to Shepherdsville, KY
230 mi, 6 hrs (back on Eastern time)

After waiting a few days for our mail which we received this morning, (thanks, Paula!) we finally left Paducah, setting off on the small country roads of Kentucky. MISTAKE! First thing is this bridge. Narrow, rusting, weight limit says 24 tons - we are 17. I'm having palpitations with closed eyes when I hear Jeff mutter next to me something about crumbling infrastructure. What!

Next, this bridge. Narrow, rusting, crumbling. I can't take it and my bowels are definitely feeling watery (I'll spare you any more description but suffice it to say NOT HAPPY!) I look over at Jeff and he is tense. Did I mention it had started raining and the wind was up to 20 or so?

Anyway, then come the twisty, steep, narrow mountain roads. Please. How much can one woman take! Sweat did break out.

It was a long rainy windy cold day but thank you, Harvey (and Jeff), we are safe and sound in a KOA outside of Louisville (locally pronounced luh-vle).

First result of frenzy

Jeff here. This is the result of less than 2 hours cutting and sewing the first top out of fabrics purchased during the Great Fabric Frenzy of '08. Sweet. I wonder how it would look with a landscape fabric?

Fabric Feeding Frenzy!!!!

Oy, what a day! We took one more spin around the expo center where Jeff bought a BabyLock long arm (!) and then headed for the Quilt Museum. Here you see a quilter genuflecting out in front.

I got one picture off in the quilt museum before Cruella came over and told me to knock it off. No cameras. Too bad because oh, the quilts. Oh oh oh. The ones I've been posting? Crap! Just crap compared to these! They are unbelievable.

Seriously though, the way it works is the winner of the annual quilt show here receives $20,000 and then her or his quilt is hung in the museum. The woman who won this year, from the Netherlands, said no way, Jose. She had labored over her quilt for 4 years and she wasn't parting with it. I don't blame her. It was patterned after her great-great-grandmother's handkerchief which she still had but was falling apart. She enlarged the pattern to quilt size. Gorgeous. I think I posted a picture of it the first day. Anyway . . .









Okay, so then we went to the last day of the fabric sale and everything was $2.98 a yard! $2.98!!!!! OMG we went crazy. Then we went to lunch. Then we went back and we went crazy again!



It was a fabric feeding frenzy! I mean LOOK AT THIS! There have been a few minor differences of opinion about which fabric is whose but I'm sure we'll work it all out. Anyway, what an addition to my, I mean uh our, stash!

What a fabulous day. Good thing it's over because Lucy and Sophie have packed their little bags and have been threatening to run away - good thing they don't have thumbs (can't hitchhike.)

The Queen of Quilting and a few more quilts

Here she is folks!! The amazing ELEANOR BURNS in the flesh!! Here she is signing books. My mother-in-law and I took her teacher's training back in the 80's and had such a great time! (Mom, I'm sure you won't mind me telling about how you puked during the class picture - oh you would? Sorry!) Anyhoo, she remembered exactly who we were and we caught up on old times and she was sorry Mom Osborn wasn't with me and we discussed a little quilting theory and so on and . . . ARE YOU KIDDING? SHE WOULDN'T KNOW ME FROM ADAM! But, I had you going, right?

She did a funny USO show to promote her new Victory Quilt and the fabric tents were next to her's. Can you say "insanity"? Tell a bunch of quilters there are yards of fabric to be had at $4/yd and we're talking stampede. Look at them all!

I was so overwhelmed I didn't buy a thing . . . which is why I'm going back with a list at 8:30 tomorrow morning when they open!

Sights seen around Paducah

Historic downtown Paducah is actually very quaint with some nice shops and restaurants, if you ever happen to be in the area. Also, it is within walking distance of the expo center - where the quilt show is held.

Everywhere you go, there are signs welcoming the quilters. It is awesome. Every church in town holds a "quilter's lunch" for 5 bucks or so. All the shops have quilts in their windows. Solidarity - yeah! Many have tables set up outside with "quilter's special price". There are banners on all the lamp posts saying "Quilt City".

Then there is the cow. wow

















































I also snapped Santa and this waif having a snack during a break. She looked a little pale but said she felt pretty good.


Then there were these nice guys I met in the coffee shop. How cute are they?? Their hats say "She quilts, I fish". The wife of the one on the right, I think, embroidered their fishing shirts on her machine (of course she did: she is a quilter!)

I told you guys I'd make you famous on the internet!!

A shout out to my homies!

A shout out loud to the fabulous Florida Keys Quilters! From left to right, Louise, Mary Lou, token male, new friend, Barb, and Jeanine!

The men of the Paducah Quilt Show

First we have my beloved, Jeff, of course. The second picture appears to be the Paducah Police Force, alert and anxious to avoid the Quilt Riots of last year!

day 2 of Paducah . . . . .

Back in Harvey after a loooooooooonnnggg (and happy fun) day at the quilt show.





Check out all the loot!

Oh Joy! Another day in Paducah!

Can you believe these quilts? It definitely humbles you. I go between being inspired and never wanting to sew another stitch (not worthy)!

I told Jeff when we left the show last night, I feel like I was under anesthesia or on heroin all day and I'm just coming out of the daze - I was sucked into the vortex, baby!

I wanted to point out the last quilt on this page: Bagdhad Burning.

PADUCAH!!

Day 24

Nashville, TN to Paducah, KY
155 mi, 3+ hrs

The International Quilt Show. For once, I am speechless.

Nashville, y'all!

Day 24

Well, here we are in Nashville and I can't tell you how disappointed I am. I mean, where is the tacky, tawdry, vulgar touristy town I was looking forward to turning up my snooty nose at???

Instead, we have beautiful green spaces, lovely architecture and nice people (abeit with marble-filled mouths.)

This morning, we went to Percy Warner Park and it was gorgeous! We hiked a "moderate" trail for an hour-and-a-half to wear out the girls so we could have an afternoon out but it kind of backfired as I was exhausted too (slept on every driving leg thereafter) Brynne's Aunt Beth would love this place - a plethora of wildflowers of every ilk - gasp: I kid you not: the "plethora" and "ilk" came right out of me like, um, well, now I'm at a loss for words. . . but anyway..

The next few pictures are of downtown Nashville, including the Parthenon. Yes, the Parthenon! It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial.





























We dropped the girls off and went over to
Opryland. Oh my.












"Under majestic, climate-controlled glass atriums, you'll be surrounded by nine acres of lush indoor gardens, winding rivers and pathways, and sparkling waterfalls where you can unwind, explore, shop, dine, and be entertained to your heart's content. Highlights include a 44-foot waterfall, fountain shows, and tours aboard our Delta Flatboats - right inside the hotel."

Their words.


Ours? Las Vegas meets Disney Land. Zoiks!

Great people watching and it took every decent bone in my body, fighting against the cynical ones, to not post some of them. bad bad bad Liz

HOLD THE PHONE: I would like to say that at the Warner parks, their signs threaten that your pets could be "disposed of" if caught off the leash. Nice. I figured Jeff would seriously um well KILL any ranger who tried to take on one of his girls so they went freely into those good woods.

nighty-night

On Lookout Mountain with Brynne, Bo and Marin

I had to post this first picture, taken at our campsite at the Raccoon Mountain Cavern. This little girl and little boy came over to play with the dogs. The reason I'm posting about them is not because the little girl is called "Gracie" but because the little boy is named "Penrod"! That might not mean much to some of you but others know that Penrod is a character written about by Booth Tarkington before my time really, but Jeff and I loved the books so much, we named our first dogs Penrod and Sam (Penrod's side kick), and our next dog, Marjorie (Penrod's girlfriend).

This Penrod had a grandfather whose nickname
was "Penrod" and he left first editions of the books with notes written for the boy. We thought that was so cool! Penrod's mother was not impressed with our story. Oh well

Anyway, we took the road up Lookout Mountain and Jeff told me not to look out the window, so I just stuck the camera out the window and snapped this. I'm telling you this is one scary pee in your pants road! It drops straight down. Jeff kept saying, I'm SO GLAD we didn't try to bring Harvey up here. I mean, what do you guys do when it's foggy - skip work? What?

Next we have Brynne and Bo and Marin's house. This is the gorgeous backyard, thanks to Brynne's Aunt Beth who definitely has thumbs of green!


Next, Brynne's kitchen. They are in the process of repainting and decorating and I must say Brynne is a woman of fabulous taste - just like her Auntie L!




Day 23
Chattanooga, TN to Nashville, TN heehaw
139 mi, 3 hrs (time change)

Introducing Marin Rose Lancaster

At last we meet! This is our beautiful niece, Brynne, with Marin Rose, our grand-niece. Isn't she adorable? And, sweeeeeeeet? She sure is.

This is the fabulous Bo, Brynne's husband, with Marin and her cousin, Sophie. (Not to brag about my own baby, but look how good she is even though Marin has taken her tennis ball!)

Jeff made a yummy dinner and we sat outside Harvey in the cool weather and ate at the picnic table and caught up. It is so nice to have them back in the good ol' US of A!!














Can anyone say "Arrested Development"...?

The Lunatics!

This is what you get after a long travel day!

Onward and upward

Day 22

Alatoona Lake, GA to Chattanooga, TN
89 mi, 3 1/4 hrs
and the reason it took so long was because we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch - my first time (and last - yuck)

So, today we woke up and went for a hike with the girls. There are tons of well maintained trails because this is where the battle of Alatoona was fought and there was a lot of civil war activity. It makes me weary thinking of all of those poor dead young soldiers. It seems

some things never change. Look at all the death and killing in our own time. You'd think we'd learn something but it will always be that way as long as men are in charge. And, don't get me started on religion! You know I am right! But I digress...

I thought it was kind of cool they had this plaque of the great locomotive chase and in the next picture, you see Lucy walking in the exact same place - no more railroad tracks, though.












After months in flat Florida, these mountains seemed enormous to us. We have landed at the Racoon Mountain campground and isn't this a cute sign?

Tonight, Brynne and Bo and Marin Rose are coming to Harvey for dinner so Jeff is out shopping while I set up.

Spring has Sprung!

Wow! I don't know why, but every year when we leave Florida, it is such a surprise when we get to Spring. This time it snuck up on us in Georgia. I did not think Georgia was that far north. It is beautiful! The dogwoods are blooming, the azaelas are at their peak, the tulips are coming up. The leaves have that bright light green shimmer.

Why, it makes one want to break into song!

Which reminds me, Jeff has forbidden me to play the kazoo in Harvey - actually threatened to throw it out the window! Boy, every party has a pooper . . .

What a long long day it's been

Day 21

Ocala, FL to Alatoona Lake, GA
384 mi, 8 hours, 16 minutes and 48 seconds

Did I mention it was a long day?

Because we are hell bent on getting to Paducah on Wednesday, we decided to put some miles on Harv. We also must stop to meet the beloved Marin Rose, great-niece in Lookout Mountain, GA and so that was our goal. Oh yeah, and Brynne and Bo! We are 84 miles short of Lookout Mountain so ALL RIGHT!

The day started out rainy and the windshield wipers practically put me in a coma so I was completely unaware of the first half of the day except when Jeff would say (in response to NPR), did you hear that idiot? to which I would reply oh....uh huh. But he is used to my intellectual input in such matters so all was pretty much status quo. The dogs were such good little travelers today, bless their hairy little hearts.

Anyway, we stopped in Marion, Georgia and let the dogs out at this poor little old used-to-be-a-laundromat. It is right next to a brand new generic strip mall and I just felt sorry for it. I mean it has more character in it's present condition than the chinese food/nails/drycleaner/fastfood/CVS mall right next to it. Stepping off of my soap box now . . .

we had lunch at El Cotija which was an okay Mexican joint but I took the picture because look at Harvey! He is as tall as the restaurant. And, when we went inside, every window in the dining room was blocked by his side.

The day turned sunny and the we drove on and on and on and on - oh! did I mention it was a long day?

So, we landed at Alatoona Lake, Georgia at the Marina and RV Resort and it is really nice.
We took a little hike along an old wagon road from the civil war which was pretty cool and I'll show you some pictures tomorrow because we'll take a longer walk in the morning to exercise (as opposed to exorcise) the girls.

I must say, as you probably know, I despise the south - I mean, it's full of well southerners for Pete's sake! However, it is very pretty right here. My only question for today? Why do the people talk as if they have a mouthful of marbles? The woman from the campground told me: weezawfaclotodarayrotrak, idatokay? I love the sound of the train, so no worries, right?

What you don't want to see when you're barrelling down the highway at 75!

AAaaaarrrrrghghghgh!!!!

Awesome shot, right? He was actually being towed backwards but it was pretty freaky anyway!

On the road again

Day 20

St. James City to Ocala, FL
245 mi, 4 hrs
59 gallons of diesel, $250.00!!

Once we got the girls out of bed this morning, we took a final walk on the beach and took the ferry back to Pine Island. These pelicans greeted us on the way into the marina.

It was wonderful to see Harvey again and once we attached the toad (our Toyota Tacoma aka the Taco - get it? towed = toad) we took off for points north.
The area around Ocala is so beautiful, green rolling hills and horse farms. We could never ever live here because there is no ocean but it is lovely. Our nephew-in-law is from Ocala and we can see why he must love it.

We found a huge campground with spanish moss draped everywhere and apparently YIKES poisonous snakes. Okay, I told Sophie, you must pee and poop only on the pavement because mummy will not be walking anywhere snakes may lurk.

She is not that great of a listener. Anyway, here we are for the night, reading our mail - thank you, Paula! for fedexing our mail - and catching up on email, etc. Hoping to cross into Georgia tomorrow on the journey to Paducah!!

And, hoping to avoid evil nasty snakes!!

The congested roads of North Captiva - wha?

You can see the island's airstrip on the right in the second picture. We've flown in here many times in one of the tiny claustrophobic deathtrap aircraft . . . oh wait a minute, no we haven't. Like, not EVER!

Anyhoo, we leave beautiful North Captiva island tomorrow and although it is a bittersweet good-bye, it will be nice to be back on board Harvey. He has been waiting patiently at the KOA in St. James City so, tomorrow we leave on the 9:30 ferry, pick up Harvey and off we go.

I am a bit concerned about our schedule because we simply MUST be in Paducah on the 23rd and time is getting short! Why Paducah, Kentucky you might ask? Well (insert know-it-all snort of disbelief) it is ONLY the MECCA for quilters. More on that later.

Our other MUST SEE is the lovely Marin Rose, the only great-niece we have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, who resides in Lookout Mountain, GA which is outside of Chattanooga, TN.


So. We are on a mission. Uh, two missions. Yeah, that's right.

A Bad Day for the Dow

So combining the hobbies of quilting and economic prognosticating, I came up with this quilt. I call it "A Bad Day for the Dow".

(Note that this is Jeff.)

Quilt for Caroline

Cold and cloudy on the island today so I finished this quilt top. I just love this Laurel Burch mermaid fabric (the cats, not so much). Miss Sophie is always such a willing model - she knows how photogenic she is.

Wait 'til you see the top Jeff is working on.

oooh, just noticed you can see Lulu in the background

Upper Captiva Island aka paradise

Oh beautiful North Captiva. Sunrise this morning, my adorable bedhead, who also scoops the poop - could I get any luckier??

We saw a small pod of dophin and I'd like to show you the only mode of transportation on the island - ohhhh the rat race we must endure.

Day 13 - bye bye Harv!

Well, I don't know if I should be writing this because today we left Harvey behind for a week and really, this is his blog. hmmmmmm

We come to North Captiva every Spring because we love it so. It is an island with no real roads, just sandy paths; no vehicles, only golf carts. And, it is quiet. Oh so quiet. (unless the i-phone of He Who Shall Remain Nameless were to ring)

Anyway, here we are leaving Harvey and there is the view from the Island Girl ferry, leaving Pine Island behind.


Here we have a picture of Lulu and Daddy, then Sophie doing her impression of "hanged harbor seal" to entertain the other passengers. uh huh.

The next pics are of our rental - cute! From the outside, view from the porch and bye-bye for now.

OH! By the way, I would like to give a big shoutout loud to my darling nephew, Aaron and his fabulous wife, Carla for posting on our blog!

That means we now have four readers (hi Mom and Dad)! heehawwoopedidoo

Driving south to Pine Island

Day 12

Lakeland, FL to St. James City, FL
115 mi, 4 hrs

Ok, what???? Huh? This is a sign seen in Matlacha (pronounced mat-lush-ay') on one of it's bridges. Matlacha is a weirdly cute little town on a little stretch of road between the mainland and Pine Island.

We are here because Harvey is going to stay in St. James City while we take our annual jaunt to Upper Captiva Island for a week. More on that tomorrow.

The horses? Well, they are just one person's idea of decoration, I guess (we like the second one in from the right with the dreadlocks.) She apparently had to put up the sign we saw outside saying, "this is not a store". Really.

Next, a little pic of the town taken from the love of Jeff's love: his i-phone. sigh






Okay, and then there's the price of diesel and Harvey was hungry. YIKES!!!!!

You dirty dogs . . .

Hey, what does that sign mean??













Ohhhhhhhhhhh

Day 11

This is Rick giving Harvey a much needed bath (after a week in the sand and salt spray). He got laid off from his job in Pennsylvania and now he is a truck driver here and does this on the side. Frankly, I think he's better off. Salt of the earth.

We explored historic downtown Lakeland today - it is very cute. These sculptures caught my eye and were right across from, can it be? Yes! The Patchwork Pig, a really nice and totally stocked quilt and fabric shop. Nice ladies.

The last is a picture of my husband at lunch with his new true love: his i-phone. Oi.

PLEASE DO NOT FEED (your dogs to) THE GATORS!

Day 10

Flagler Beach, FL to Lakeland, FL
154 mi, 5.5 hrs (I know I know but we got lost)

Today, we said goodbye to Flagler Beach, a beautiful day with big winds and waves. I spent a good part of each day shoveling sand out of Harvey so we headed inland for grass and perhaps a concrete patio.

I would like to digress here and say how much I love my husband. Here we are at the crack of dawn walking the dogs - he on poop patrol as always - and as he is cleaning up after first Lucy and then Sophie, I hear him speaking a little tune that went something like this: fresh from the bowels of happy canines . . . Later, when he is picking up after Lucy: oh, the princess has left me a little love note. I love him so.

Anyway, today was a day for gators. First, we stopped in Eustis, FL, a really cute little town. We had lunch at The Crazy Gator, a really old and interesting restaurant (gator was on the menu, of course.) The mural is a painting of an old postcard featuring the steamboat, Alligator, on the river outside the restaurant. Told you it was a day for gators. Anyway, onward until about 1pm when Jeff said, hey let's stop for the day. Harvey needs a bath and we'll just find a good campground and stop early. After all we have days to get to Pine Island where we need to be on Friday. That's when we got lost in Lakeland looking for the Sanlan Ranch Campground. Soooooooooo, not to get into any details of that, we pulled into the campground at 3:30pm. sigh

Anyhoo, the first thing I see is the sign for alligators and one that says WATCH YOUR PETS. Yikes! So, I asked the lady at the front desk and she says well (only it sounded like waaaaelle - like two syllables), in that pond out front there is one about 10-foot, the pond out back has maybe four little ones and the pond near your site was dry not too long ago so there might not be any there. She says she walked her dog on all the nature trails until he died last year. (Like a FOOL, I did not ask her how her dog died...hmmmmmm). The dogs are tired of being in Harvey all day so we get out the flinger and the tennis ball. They heat up in hot weather pretty fast and make a dash for the only water in sight, the little pond. I tell you, I nearly wet my pants. By the way, the sign by the pond says CAUTION ALLIGATOR. Jeff ran for the pond screaming at the dogs and I ran for the camera. Here they are running back to Harvey and behind them, Jeff who lost oh about 5 years off his life.

We're looking for a place off the water tomorrow.

Hanging out at Finnegan's

Day 9

This is our cute server, next a fellow bar patron and finally, yes folks, it's true!

Britney Spears alive and well and working at Finnegan's Bar!

Rainy day

Day 8

This is the view out of Harvey's windshield since yesterday afternoon. So, what does one do on a rainy day in Harvey? Get out the sewing machines! Jeff (I don't have an artistic bone in my body) worked on this great little art quilt. Isn't it great! He got his own sewing machine for his birthday last month (a Janome) and this is his first project with it.

I worked on my own project with Miss Elna (for those of you not in the know, that is MY machine). This is called 9-Patch Pizzazz and it went together beautifully. I can't decide what to use as a border - dark or light. I guess I will just HAVE to visit Magrieta's Quilt Shop for the perfect fabric tomorrow. Hi Magrieta! We love your shop in St. Augustine!!

Flagler Beach

Day 7

Little Flagler Beach is unspoiled as yet. No generica, no mcmansions or condos. Just modest houses and small businesses on the beach. And, it's a wonderful beach! The girls dined al fresco as you can see and then you'll see pictures of Flagler Beach. We went to the farmer's market and bought fresh corn, tomatoes and strawberries, visited the bookstore where a sweet black lab named Captain Brody lives (also a rock picker but not yet dentally ill like Sophie!) We loved the name of the tattoo/piercing parlor. We had lunch at this bar overlooking the ocean. Lazy hot day and wrapped it up with a visit to the local quilt shop. A shout out to Quilt and Sew in Bunnell, FL.

Oblivioids

Day 6

You know those people who will be walking in front of you and then just stop in the middle of the sidewalk so you have to wait or go around? Or who, even though they're facing you in the grocery store aisle, just gape blankly instead of moving to the side or the ones who think they're the only ones in a busy restaurant when it comes to calling the kids in Kansas on their cell phone to tell what they're having for lunch?

Well, we call them Oblivioids. (meant kindly, of course)

Sightseeing in St. Augustine

Day 5

Today we toured St. Augustine, dodging rain storms in hot and humid weather. St. Augustine was founded in 1565. Isn't that amazing? The Spanish influenced architecture is truly lovely. Here you see Flagler College. Lots of Flagler in Florida, that's for sure. The next picture is a Moorish looking building that houses a museum. I loved the Markham house built in 1820. The owner died laying the cornerstone and his widow had the building finished. Her name was Clarissa and I'm guessing she was muy popular - we're talking some big bucks here!

Anyhoo, there is also a shot of some Red Hats at a luncheon getting caught in a downpour. This garden they are in is at the Pena-Peck House where I threw a 50th wedding anniversary for Jeff's parents a few years ago. It dates back to the 1700's and was built by the King of Spain. How cool is that? Anyway, we were just getting a kick out of the ladies shrieking and running for cover.

Let's see, there is my cute little boo-boo posing with some paper mache figures in the history museum and I don't know who they are supposed to be because the woman who took our money told us the museum was airconditioned and it was a BALD FACED LIE so I just had to get out of there so I snapped the pic and took off to find the quilt shop. I mean, Florida History or fabric? Hmmmmmm Okay, I pick fabric!

We had lunch at a fave of ours called Cap's on the intercoastal waterway. Seared tuna and fish tacos. That's what I'm talkin' about!


Aaron and Carla - thank you for driving and putting up with the backseat whining of He Who Shall Remain Nameless. We can't believe you are already leaving tomorrow - it's been fun!

To the Rescue!!

Day 4

This is a Northern Gannett, probably migrating from South America. All this according to the Wildlife Rehab in Flagler - You guys are AWESOME!!

Anyway, we were taking a long walk on the beach today with the dogs and came across this poor bird, unable to fly. Lucy went running up to him and all he could do was turn his head around and watch her coming. Needless to say, we called her away.

This bird has a big sharp beak so we didn't get too close. Carla and I immediately went into sympathy mode while Aaron mumbled something and Jeff said I don't mean to sound cold but . . . Honestly, men! Anyway, Carla said something (not to be repeated here) to Aaron and he went running back to Harvey to call for help. Jeff kept the dogs occupied.

Carla and I watched helplessly as the tide came closer to the bird and he tried to scramble away from the waves. Carla went after Aaron. Meantime, Aaron called and he and Carla came back to keep watch while Jeff and I took the dogs home. Jeff hopped on the segway (see how useful it is?) to go down the beach to take pictures and Rescue arrived in 15 minutes and took the bird to rehab.

I LOVE a happy ending!!

Aaron and Carla! Yay!

Our lovely nephew, Aaron and his beauteous wife, Carla, arrived from New York. They flew into Jacksonville to meet us but then had to drive down to Flagler Beach as our plans had changed.

Off we went to find a motel for them. Well, what a find! This is the Topaz and it is wild, weird and wonderful! This is the front parlor and how creepy is the mannequin? Yikes! Their plan was to sneak around in the middle of the night and get good and scared.

Unfortunately, something may have happened to them as we haven't heard a peep this morning . . .

Day 3

Day 3
Ft. Pierce, FL to Flagler Beach, FL
165 mi, 4 hrs

We were unable to get a reservation up in Vilano Beach so we landed here on Flagler Beach and we're so glad we did! The campground is literally right on the beach. (I took a picture of the sign in case anybody was interested in the job posted. Not a bad way to go.) You can see what our space looked like before we pulled in and a view of the c.g. from the beach. All we see out Harvey's windshield: ocean!